Although the internet car buying experience is still in its’ infancy, there are some trends that we found useful to share with you – some anecdotal, and some measurable.

The Right Experience

The internet car buyer is no different to any other online customer. They expect a professional, secure, smooth transaction and some kind of incentive for taking this route to purchase. Brands who recognise this end up not only benefiting from passing on the increased efficiency of the internet, but also end up with very satisfied customers – CarQuake’s CSI ratings are far higher for our dealers than through any other source of business.

The Real Deal

Online customers also expect a proper offer and therefore ‘deal’ for their enquiry. After all, they are not choosing to take the high ticket and overhead route… they just want a decent price and not to be messed around. All other consumer products have better offers online than on the high street – why should cars be different?

So, Where Does Brand Loyalty Fit?

Recent research shows there isn’t much loyalty and, if anything, it’s decreasing. All the more rapidly in times where personal spending is much more carefully considered. We can see from our site measures that customers coming in on one brand may end up enquiring on a completely different one.

We note that the brands where deals are there to be had online seem to be the same ones who are doing well in uncertain times. We also note that those encouraging customers to continue using the dealer network are also benefiting from high satisfaction.

We can also receive emails from customers that provide supporting evidence for all we’ve covered. For example…

“I couldn’t get a deal on a MakeX car, so I went for a MakeY… I liked the sliding door, loads of gadgets, much more space. The dealer offered interest free finance too.”

“What an amazing site. I was contacted by a Make Z dealer and confirmed purchase today. Less than 48 hours after submitting my request. Many many thanks” (this arrived as I was writing this post).

The customers speak for themselves… we need to continue to be ready to respond to their needs.